The term "Left" in politics dates back to the 1790s when, during the French Revolution, socialist representatives sat to the presiding officer's left in the revolutionary parliament. These individuals represented the Leftist ideology, advocating for the interests of the working class and opposing the elites, wealthy, and aristocracy. They leaned towards socialism, with the more radical Leftists favouring communism. On the other hand, those seated to the right of the presiding officer, the nobles or aristocrats, came to represent the right-wing ideology, which upheld authority, tradition, and capitalism with minimal government intervention.
In 1992, I first stepped into Jawaharlal Nehru University to visit a cousin who had enrolled in a French degree program. At 17, I was all for rejecting aristocracy and tradition, standing firmly with the working class. Though I never equated my stance with communism or socialism, I didn't fully understand the connection between economic models and political ideologies at that time.
What was extremely refreshing about the campus atmosphere was the environment where elite professors and academicians mingled freely with students from poor and backward areas of India, creating a space without class divides. It was my first experience in India where a person wasn't judged based on their family background, wealth, or social status. Everyone was treated as an equal and given a chance at higher education, including the opportunity to prepare for careers in bureaucracy and other government services, which were the most popular choices for JNU students in those days.
While pursuing my engineering degree at Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh, I frequently visited JNU over the years and eventually lived there while working for companies like HCL and GE until 2012. However, I discovered many contradictions to the initial impression of JNU being a place that treats people of all backgrounds equally. The façade of equality had a carefully and craftily woven bias that was pre-set. From caste and economic background to connections in bureaucracy and politics, and to those who could enable scholarships or grants for foreign tours, the deceit was slyly disguised as a philosophy of egalitarianism.
The scenario where PhD students constantly seek professors' approvals, even performing tasks like buying groceries and acting as unpaid research assistants, was deemed acceptable. Ironically, these professors never hesitated to mention their own children's salaries as research assistants at prestigious institutions like Oxford, Berkeley, or Howard. They firmly believe their children deserve compensation, yet they advocate socialism and communism in public discourse. Furthermore, it's common to see these professors traveling twice yearly to the U.S., Europe, or the U.K. for lectures, seminars, or visits with their children.
I have longed believed in the saying that never go by what a person says go by what they do. So clearly applying this adage to the JNU academicians most of them were extremely hypocritical. While lauding Marx, Lenin, CPI & CPM and aligning to Congress to secure grants and VC positions they were making the most of socialism at home and capitalism abroad.
So the question is why did learned intelligent people like the JNU professors choose leftism as a political ideology but capitalism as their own personal economic philosophy. Well the answer is simple leftism doesn’t lead to wealth creation for all and they knew it all along. The only equality is economic equality. As long as you are not economically equal to your neighbour you will always be seen as the lesser one. And while there is nothing wrong in an individual in wanting wealth for himself and his children and family what is wrong is pretending to be a Gandhian while relishing all the good things of life that capitalism brings. The only way you can do that is by being a hypocrite. Say one do another.
The reality is that the class divide at JNU was so deeply ingrained in its culture and foundation that it became an accepted norm. This created a situation where living a double life was the only viable option. The prevailing mantra was to publicly oppose capitalism while quietly reaping its benefits from both sides. Meanwhile, students from underprivileged backgrounds languished in hostels, often finding university life preferable to their own homes, all while being enticed with promises of education, principles, and revolution. Behind the scenes, academics and their families prospered from economic opportunities in markets that thrived in places like the US, Europe, and the UK from 1950s’ onwards.
There is a famous quote by Steve jobs that says “Stay hungry, Stay foolish”, while that is classic coming from the GURU of capitalism, alter it to “Keep them hungry, Keep them foolish” and that pretty much summarizes the vision the leftist, elite academicians and politicians had for the students of JNU.
